Acting Editor: Andrea Kulesh email: r.hillhistsoc@hotmail.ca

Tel.# 905-884-2789 Website: www.rhhs.ca President: Andrea Kulesh

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Springtime is here finally! Happy Spring to everyone.

In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of

weather inside of 24 hours.~ Mark Twain

Never a truer word was spoken, considering the

long and cold winter we just experienced. We hope

for a lovely summer with lots of sunshine!

Upcoming Events

“DOORS OPEN”

Saturday, May 10, 2014 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From the town website:

Many intriguing cultural, historic and religious sites

within Richmond Hill will open their doors to the

public. Even long-time Richmond Hill residents will

likely learn something new about their hometown

after visiting Doors Open sites. This is a great

initiative. Once again we have sponsored the event

by sending a cheque for $100 as an Oak Door

Sponsor. Maggie Mackenzie will be distributing

1500 brochures for us during the day's event.

RHHS Monthly Meeting May 19th, 7:30 p.m.

**A GORTA MOR: AN EXAMINATION OF THE IRISH POTATO FAMINE Speaker: Bryan McClure

This talk will delve into the realities of the Potato Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1851 and attempt to clarify popular conceptions on the Potato Famine. Brian will examine agricultural practices, land holding and

industrialization in Ireland to discover if the Famine was man-made or a natural phenomenon. In addition to this he will examine the cultural and social impact of the Famine not only in Ireland and Great Britain, but in North America as well and see where our modern ideas about the Famine came from. Brian brings very interesting facts to light - how the Irish Potato Famine was impacted by British and Irish government, how Ireland was perceived at that time, the social impact on other countries and how agricultural planning was altered for the future by the Famine. Mark this on your calendar and join us for a very interesting evening….

Members only event

Our Annual Strawberry Social & Celebration of Doris Leno's 100th Birthday June 16th, 2014

(6:30 p.m. One hour earlier than usual) Please join us for our annual Strawberry Social at Wallace Hall. This year we have the special privilege of joining in to celebrate a birthday of one of our senior members, Doris Leno, who celebrates her 100th birthday this year. We will make a presentation about Doris Leno's life, growing up and living in the town of Richmond Hill. A special evening, celebrating a special person who has been an integral part of the Richmond Hill Historical Society and the Town of Richmond Hill.

mailto:r.hillhistsoc@hotmail.cahttp://www.rhhs.ca/

RHHS Monthly Meeting

September 15th, 2014 7:30 p.m.

The Prisoner’s Boxes of the 1837 Rebellion

Speaker: Darryl Withrow

Darryl Withrow teaches Media Literacy to grades

1-8. He is also the Teacher Librarian for the school.

He has been a volunteer with Pickering Museum

for 7 years. Darryl’s talk will be of great interest.

Darryl Withrow will establish little before known

facts about a surprising aspect of the

imprisonment of the rebels of the 1837 rebellion

in Upper Canada. He will bring examples of

Prisoner’s Boxes – items that not many people

are aware of. He returns to our Society by way

of having been one of the four speakers at the

RHHS Rebellion workshop in October 2013 and

was very well received. His passion for this

subject extends to him replicating these

surprising artifacts and holds a very large

collection of these objects. You won’t want to

miss this presentation…….

**Any questions regarding the above information please speak with Andrea Kulesh or call 905-884-2789. The Executive hopes you will be able to participate and enjoy these upcoming events. Please feel free to bring a guest to any of our monthly meetings with special presentations by speakers.** BRING A FRIEND…..

“ONE HUNDREDS”

COMMEMORATION - The Great War

began one hundred years ago. Anniversaries and commemorations, throughout the world will be

marking this significant anniversary with

ceremonies to remember the beginning of the Great

War of 1914- 1918. There will be many who will

mark this commemoration with memories of their

own families who were involved in World War I.

This is a special year to be involved in

Remembrance.

ANNIVERSARY : THE RICHMOND HILL

GARDEN AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

turns 100 years old this year. They began

celebrations with a Gala at the Performing Arts

Theatre on April 16th. Many Past Presidents were

invited to join in and some made up arrangements

that were on display. Photographs were on exhibit,

and letters from the Royal Family were laid out for

everyone to enjoy.(Editor’s note: I’m sure Kevin

Dark and Norman McMullen had something to do

with this!!) There was a letter of congratulations

from the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper and from

The Premier, Kathleen Wynne. As President of the

Society, Norman McMullen was Master of

Ceremonies and many officiates from the Ontario

Horticultural Society spoke; as well as significant

friends of the Society. A garden at the theatre was

officially opened by Norman McMullen and Mayor

Barrow – named after one of their members and

ours -The Gladys McLatchey Garden. (our Gladys

would be so touched) What a wonderful

achievement for one of our Town's oldest

community groups. We congratulate them on

their first 100 years!!

100th Birthday - Doris Leno, one of our members who has been in the Society for many years, right back to the beginnings, celebrates her 100th birthday this year.

Happy 100th Birthday Doris !!

The RHHS was invited to visit the Richmond Hill

Heritage collection on April 16th

. We enjoyed an

Open house specifically arranged for the Society.

Carol Hughes hosted the day as manager of the

department. Volunteers were on hand who

catalogue and write reports for the artifacts as they

are processed to be part of the Heritage collection. It

was encouraging to see the excellent care that the

artifacts receive. It is wonderful to see how the

Town of Richmond Hill has continually been

developing their policy on the storage of all kinds of

items. For those who attended and perhaps were

able to view donations that they made themselves, it

gives you a sense of how these donations will be on

hand for people to study in the future, guaranteeing

accurate historical observation for future

generations. Well done - Town of Richmond Hill!

“CELEBRATE CULTURE” SPRING RAFFLE Tickets will be available for the Spring Raffle at the

May monthly meeting. Per ticket is $2.00 and

3/$5.00

First Prize: An original abstract painting by Herbert

Pryke, a Richmond Hill artist. He is a member of

many groups and is a long standing member of the

Richmond Hill Group of Artists. His work is

reminiscent of our early

Canadian artists. www.herbertpryke.com

Second Prize: An original painting by Valerie Kent,

a local artist who has painted the “Main Street

of Richmond Hill” to commemorate our 140th

anniversary of 2013. http://valeriekent.com

Third Prize: A book by Jim and Sue Waddington,

named “In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven”.

You may remember that Jim and Sue spoke to the

RHHS in October 2013 and were very well

received. Their experience and motivation to follow

and locate the well known Group of Seven’s actual

painting locations is a wonderful story of a

passionate love for these Canadian icons.

www.groupofseven.ca

The RHHS is looking for photos, news clippings, stories and memories about Doris Leno. She will be celebrating her 100th birthday in September. We would like to make a presentation to her at our Strawberry Social. Please contact myself with any information you may have that we can include in the Program. I will be trying to produce a Power Point presentation so I need anything you wish to lend well in advance. We have invited the Mayor to say a few

words about Doris and anyone who wishes to speak, please let Andrea Kulesh know in advance so we can plan for the evening’s program.

40th Anniversary of Hillcrest Mall Hillcrest Mall is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is

looking for photos of the area up to and including the

present day. The photos or news clippings can be of

what was there originally, then anything after that and

any photos people might have taken at the mall, or

outside of the mall over the years. They intend to

celebrate this anniversary in August and we have

decided to join in to assist in with their research and

also have a table display for the Historical Society in

the mall. Please contact myself with any information

you might think could be included. Any of the

original area to the south of Richvale is also relevant.

(Stephens farm- Roselawn Dairy, golf range on the

opposite corner, Yonge Street).

Delmanor retirement residence

In March, the RHHS spent an evening at Delmanor presenting a program prepared by Alison Hughes

named, “Why do We Say That?". Along with the presentation we took some mystery artifacts for the audience to enjoy. There were many residents on hand for the evening and was very well received by everyone. They have asked us if we would be able to return on a regular basis. Delmanor has kindly been hosting our executive meetings for the second year and we can give back some of that community spirit by visiting and bringing the Richmond Hill Historical Society to the public in different venues you. I want to thank Alison Hughes for the great presentation and all of the executive members who attended. Thank you.

HERITAGE VILLAGE DAY JUNE 7TH

, 2014

Once again, the RHHS will be

represented at Heritage village day.

This is a great opportunity for the

society to get out and talk to lots of

people….. We will be circulating a

volunteer list at the May monthly

meeting . Last year was a great

success. We were able to distribute

pamphlets, sell merchandise and offer

demonstrations for people to observe.

Consider Volunteering at HVD 2014…..

http://www.herbertpryke.com/http://valeriekent.com/http://www.groupof/

THE

RICHMOND HILL

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OUR OBJECTIVE

To Preserve In Our Present Community

An Awareness of The Culture

Of Our Forefathers

Yonge Street looking north at Arnold Crescent

Visit

www.rhhs.ca

The RHHS Executive wishes to extend a warm thank you to

Marshall Funeral Home for their generous sponsorship for

2014. They have been a long standing and loyal sponsor for

over 20 years.

Thank you to Dinah Cruse-Hunter and Greg Hunter for their 3

year presentation of the War of 1812.

Please Consider Membership:

THE RICHMOND HILL HISTORICAL

SOCIETY

Membership Application Form

Please Circle: New Member or Renewal

Please Circle: Individual ($25) or

Family ($40) per year

Name (s) : First: ________________________

Last :_________________________________

Address: _____________________________

_____________________________

Phone # (s) : ___________________________

E-mail :_______________________________

Signature: ____________________________

Date: ________________________________

Date Payment Received: _________________

Cash ____ or Cheque ____

Please fill in the membership form and mail to: Membership,

Richmond Hill Historical Society, PO Box 61527, 9350 Yonge

Street, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 0C9 or bring it with payment

to a monthly meeting.

We look forward to your support as a

Member.

http://www.rhhs.ca/http://edrh.rhpl.richmondhill.on.ca/PhotoArchives/figures.asp?ID=f9-25